Seeing Through the Rainy Season

If last week’s photo series was about changeable weather, this week’s is about the apparent permanence of moisture during one of the rainy seasons in Wales – there is certainly more than one!

I was recently up on the hills of the Mawr ward near Swansea to assess the conditions for a scheduled project production day . . . what a joke. I couldn’t believe the weather on my journey up there but thought “the weather is so changeable these days, you never know, it might clear“. Ha! Wishful thinking indeed.

Having said that, I had my waterproofs with me and decided it would be good to try and capture something of the atmosphere of the place in these wild conditions. So here is a short accurately descriptive sound clip to accompany the first two images of the week.

Mist and rain on Mawr

Mist and Rain on Mawr

A Sense of Freedom

I wasn’t able to ask the ponies and I didn’t ask the people, but I like to think that they were both enjoying the sense of freedom that can be felt in places like Rhossili Bay. Whether it be on top of the Down or down in the Bay, the sense of space and freedom is the greatest attraction for me and many others.

Rhossili Down is not that high but being next to the sea means that you are able to appreciate the full scale of this feature, particularly when you look down to those tiny people on the beach below.

People on Rhossili Down

Ponies on Rhossili Down

People on Rhossili Beach

Part of the Landscape

Rocks and villages – I love the way the scattering of rocks in this Gower landscape seem to reflect the scattering of buildings in the village beyond.

The view is from the top of Rhossili Down looking north west across the Loughor Estuary towards Carmarthenshire. The weather is fine (at this point) and I am enjoying a beautiful production walk for a StillWalks video which, as yet, I have not managed to complete!

Rhossili Downs

Rocks on the Downs

 

Walking the Cliff Paths

Rhossili, Rhossili Bay, Rhossili Downs, the cliffs, the beach – all are popular places throughout the year at the end of the Gower Peninsula. It’s not difficult to see why and fortunately the large expanse of the bay and the hills above mean that it rarely feels overcrowded.

Cliff path

Man on the Downs

At the End of the Walk

I often view this scene from the other side of the valley, on top of the hills. This view, on a sunny Autumn day, is from the end of my production walk through the woods I have featured in my posts throughout the past week.

The walk started soon after sunrise and this view was taken mid afternoon. I look forward to working on the post-production for the StillWalks video which will include some of the images I have posted .

South Wales LandscapeBelow are the other images posted earlier this week.

 

Foreground and Background – What’s the Story

They say a good photo should tell a story. I like the story these images tell me but what story do they tell you?

They are just one chapter in the story of images I am presenting this week from Sunday to Sunday. They were taken as part of a StillWalks production day but as yet I have not had a chance to take this much further.

close focus

Mid focus

Lonely Road to the Source

The source of the river Lliw lies in the upland area of the Mawr in Swansea. To get there requires a short hike across the hills from a road that feels like it is in the middle of nowhere.

This beautiful environment is not far from civilisation and the ease with which I can get from the hubbub of society to these wonderful areas is one of the good aspects of Wales.

Mawr Landscape

Source of the Lliw River